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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23071564">Almost Love (But It Could Be Love)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthehotgirl/pseuds/imthehotgirl'>imthehotgirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexual Male Character, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, First Love, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:14:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23071564</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthehotgirl/pseuds/imthehotgirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Evan "Buck" Buckley is an average 16-year-old. That is until the worst possible thing happens to him. The 5 love letters he wrote to his 5 crushes go out into the world. As a result the popular, athletic (and totally out of his league) Eddie Diaz comes up with a plan that could potentially help them both out. Buck figures why not? Things couldn't get any worse, right? It's not like he'd actually fall in love with Eddie Diaz of all people.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>73</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yes, this is the Buddie version of 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before'. The movie 'verse anyway since I still need to read the books. Not sure if anyone (aside from me and one of my BFFs) actually wanted this to be a thing that exists, but it's happening and I'm kind of excited for it. Yes, Bobby is the Buckley sibs' father. No disrespect is meant to Jenny Han (author of TATB books). And yes, if you look for them small nuggets from TATB and past/current seasons of 9-1-1 are present throughout the fic. Anyway, happy reading, y'all! If you enjoy don't hesitate to kudos or comment! :) &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I can’t believe you’re going to college in two days,” Buck muttered, stretching out on his older sister’s bed.</p><p>Maddie sighed, grabbing a hold of Buck’s hand. “Yeah, it’ll be different, but I’ll FaceTime on the weekends. And you can text me whenever you need to, Evan,” she promised, giving Buck an encouraging smile.<br/>
It did manage to make Buck feel a little better. Until he remembered he’d be starting his junior year of high school in just a few days.</p><p>“But how am I supposed to survive being an upperclassman without you?!” he complained, grabbing one of the smaller throw pillows Maddie kept on her bed and covering his face with it so his voice came out muffled as he spoke.</p><p>Maddie grabbed the pillow and tossed it to the floor. “Don’t be so melodramatic, Evan,” she chastised softly.</p><p>“Easy for you to say, Mads. You’re college-bound and will soon be doing college things, like making new friends, going to parties, drinking and skipping class,” Buck protested.</p><p>Maddie chuckled, rolling her eyes at him. “Whatever, Evan. Just promise me something?” she asked, growing serious once again.</p><p>“What is it?” Buck wondered aloud.</p><p>“Promise me that you’ll take risks this year? And put yourself out there a bit more?”</p><p>Buck swallowed as he mulled over his sister’s words, struggling not to feel terrified by the very idea of her suggestion.</p><p>He thought briefly of their mom Lana and found himself wondering if she would’ve given him the same advice if she’d still been alive.</p><p>“I’ll try,” he finally murmured.</p><p>Maddie seemed nullified by his answer. “One more thing. Take care of Dad while I’m gone?”</p><p>Their father Bobby had been a bit lost in the past three years since Lana had died.</p><p>“Absolutely, Mads,” he promised her.</p><p>**</p><p>Before Buck was fully prepared for it the first day of junior year came. Bobby was all smiles that morning, insisting he get a few pictures of his son to share with Maddie later.</p><p>Remembering his promise to Maddie, Buck attempted to look cheerful for the pictures his father snapped of him.</p><p>Once that was accomplished, Bobby handed him a set of keys.</p><p>“Uh, Dad, what’re these?” Buck asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.</p><p>“The keys to the car, Buck,” Bobby replied with a chuckle. “Figured you’d want the chance to drive to school, son.”</p><p>Buck’s eyes widened in alarm at this news, suddenly feeling like the waffles he’d scarfed down at breakfast were about to resurface.</p><p>“No. Oh, hell no. Dad, I can’t… I mean, I’m not ready to… Really? No, no. Absolutely not,” he insisted, thrusting the keys back into Bobby’s hand. “It’s okay. It’s the first day of school. Hen usually gives me and Chim a ride, remember? I don’t want to mess with tradition.”</p><p>Bobby shrugged. “All right. If you’re sure?”</p><p>Buck nodded emphatically, feeling the sudden panic that’d overwhelmed him, subside as he realized he wouldn’t have to worry about driving that day. His dad had taken him practice driving a few times over the summer, but he felt very ill-equipped for something of this nature.</p><p>At that moment Hen walked over to where Buck and Bobby continued to stand in their driveway. Not only was she one of Buck’s best friends, she was also the Buckleys’ neighbor.</p><p>“Morning, Mr. Buckley,” she said to Bobby. “Hey, Buck. You ready to go? You get the keys yet?” she continued, her eyes bouncing back and forth between Bobby and Buck eagerly.</p><p>“Keys?” Buck choked out, color draining from his face.</p><p>“Yeah, man. You’re driving me and Chimney to school today, remember? We talked about this last night?” Hen said, clearly confused at Buck’s reluctance.</p><p>Their conversation the three of them had had before the movie they’d gone to see the previous night slowly filtered back to Buck. He’d been too preoccupied by the fact that his current crush Ali had been working behind the concession stand that night to really pay attention to what his friends were discussing.</p><p>He’d met Ali over the summer during a creative writing seminar and he felt like they had a real connection, at least through their writing. And he’d found himself developing feelings for her.</p><p>Once he got home later that night and went into his room, he got out his notebook and wrote her a love letter. Buck found himself glancing toward his bedroom door, making sure his dad wasn’t in the vicinity.</p><p>Letting loose a breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding, he headed in the direction of his bed, got onto his stomach and pulled out an old, tattered shoebox from underneath it.</p><p>He put the letter in the shoebox along with the four others that were already in there. Over the years he’d written four other letters to people he’d had crazy intense feelings for at certain times in his life.</p><p>First there was Carlos Reyes from the sixth-grade debate team. Unfortunately, the other boy had transferred schools by the following year. Second there was Abby Clark from summer camp during the summer between seventh and eighth grade. Third was Eddie Diaz.</p><p>Eddie had been Buck’s best friend Shannon’s secret crush for nearly two years. The three of them had been at one of their first boy-girl parties and were in the middle of a game of spin the bottle when it was Buck’s turn. And the bottle landed on Eddie.</p><p>Buck wanted to run in fear away from the basement and house where the party was being held. But their other classmates were watching eagerly as Buck bit down nervously on his lower lip and Eddie gave him a soft yet reassuring smile, his brown eyes radiating a warmth that helped ease Buck’s nervousness.</p><p>Glancing in Shannon’s direction Buck flinched at the glare she was giving him.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Evan. I brushed my teeth before coming tonight. Promise,” Eddie told him. Buck flashed a weak smile at Eddie, their classmates surrounding them laughing at Eddie’s joke as Buck finally leaned forward and kissed Eddie before losing his nerve entirely. It was over rather quickly, but all it took was a few seconds and Buck had a new crush. While simultaneously losing his best friend because Shannon hadn’t stuck around much longer after Buck and Eddie’s brief lip lock. Shortly after that party Shannon dropped out of Buck’s life entirely with no explanation.</p><p>He was confused and hurt for a while, but luckily the summer between eighth and ninth grade Hen moved into his neighborhood. She quickly became his best friend, a friend he desperately needed. But during their first Homecoming dance together Buck felt like there was something more going on between them when Hen asked him to dance.</p><p>She could tell he was pretty miserable watching Shannon and Eddie dance together since the two of them had recently become a couple. Buck hadn’t told Hen about kissing Eddie at that party, but she did know he and Shannon used to be best friends, so she knew seeing Shannon in any capacity was uncomfortable for Buck.</p><p>Later that night once he’d gotten home, he wrote Hen a love letter he never sent. And thankfully he never got around to it because a few weeks later she told him she was a lesbian and soon after that began dating Karen.</p><p>Even though Hen never knew about Buck’s (former) crush on Eddie Diaz he did eventually get around to telling her he was bi.</p><p>The two of them met Chimney when he came over one afternoon during their sophomore year to help Maddie with an English assignment. The three of them became fast friends and were soon inseparable. And Chimney eventually got up the courage to ask Maddie out and they began dating.</p><p>Pulling himself from thoughts of the past back to his current situation, Buck gave Hen a placating smile. “Right. I just… Guess I forgot. I’m so used to you driving us,” he replied, giving Hen a big smile he wasn’t exactly feeling as he reluctantly returned his attention to Bobby and held his hands out for the keys to the car.</p><p>“Here you go, Buck. Drive careful,” Bobby told him. “Have a good day, you two,” he continued, addressing both Buck and Hen.</p><p>“Sure. If we make it to school alive,” Buck mumbled to himself as he climbed behind the wheel.</p><p>“Thanks, Mr. Buckley,” Hen said to Bobby. “What was that, Buck?” she asked.</p><p>“Nothing,” Buck replied, willing his nerves to die down as they headed in the direction of Chimney’s house.</p><p>**</p><p>Later that morning once the three of them made it into a parking space at the high school, Buck felt like he could finally breathe again.</p><p>“Wow. That was an experience,” Chimney snarked as the three of them climbed from the vehicle and headed in the direction of the building.</p><p>“Oh, hush, Chimney. Buck got us here in one piece which is what matters,” Hen insisted.</p><p>“Yeah, sure. While driving slower than my grandmother and avoiding all the main roads that would’ve gotten us here fifteen minutes earlier,” Chimney replied as the first warning bell rang out.</p><p>Buck blushed upon hearing Chimney’s criticism. “Sorry, Chim,” he mumbled.</p><p>“It was fine, Buck. As one of your best friends it’s my job to give you crap about this sort of thing,” Chimney said, smiling at Buck.</p><p>Hen cleared her throat loudly, giving Chimney a pointed look. “If you’ll notice, being one of his best friends, I’m not being sarcastic about any of this.”</p><p>“Yeah, but you’re already planning on asking Karen for a ride home this afternoon. And don’t try to deny it,” Chimney retorted, snorting in amused satisfaction as Hen snapped her mouth shut in response. “That’s what I thought. Don’t worry, Buck, I’d still like a ride home. Though, I should probably strongly consider investing in a motorcycle helmet,” he mused, throwing an arm around Buck’s shoulders as they walked through the hallways.</p><p>Buck chuckled at Chimney’s joke, feeling for a minute like maybe with his friends’ help he’d be able to make it through this year without too much incident.</p><p>“Wow. They’re still letting you in this place with your lack of fashion sense, Evan?”</p><p>At the sound of Shannon’s voice Buck felt like he was being unexpectedly drenched in cold water. “Hey, Shannon,” he muttered with a sigh. “How’ve I offended you now?” He bit back a grin catching both Chimney and Hen giving Shannon equal looks of utter disgust.</p><p>“Well, for starters you’re wearing a t-shirt with a purple unicorn on it. What the hell?”</p><p>“Yeah, so? I found it during Pride over the summer. Thought it was cool. You know I’m bi, Shannon and purple is one of the colors in the bisexual flag,” Buck told her.</p><p>He felt a satisfied smirk curl his lip seeing his former best friend blush upon hearing his explanation.</p><p>“Whatever,” she finally muttered. Her whole demeanor changed when Eddie suddenly approached them.</p><p>“Hey, babe,” he murmured, kissing Shannon on the cheek. Shannon immediately circled around in Eddie’s arms and proceeded to make out with him in front of the little audience they had in Buck, Hen and Chimney.</p><p>“Possessive much?” Hen mouthed to Buck and Chimney, her eyes widening the longer they took in the spectacle.</p><p>“Wow,” was all Chimney managed to voice, while Buck just silently watched as his former best friend made it physically known that Eddie was hers.</p><p>As the second warning bell finally rang Shannon and Eddie broke apart and Shannon began dragging Eddie through the hallways. But not before Eddie managed to give Buck a quick once over, a smile lighting his features when his eyes landed on Buck’s shirt.</p><p>Their eyes met briefly and then the moment passed, and Hen was shoving Buck in the direction of their first class.</p><p>**</p><p>Later that afternoon, as promised, Chimney sat in the passenger seat of Buck’s car. And unsurprisingly Hen was nowhere in sight.</p><p>“Hen get a ride home from Karen?” Buck asked with a knowing smile.</p><p>Chimney nodded. “Yup. You sure you don’t mind me coming over to study for a bit?” he asked.</p><p>“Nah, man. It’s cool. And hey, if we’re lucky Maddie might FaceTime, so you’ll get to see her too,” Buck said.</p><p>“Awesome,” Chimney said with a grin.</p><p>Sharing his friend’s happiness at the thought of seeing his sister soon, Buck backed out of his parking space…without taking into account his surroundings.</p><p>Yelping, he quickly hit the brakes after hearing a yell from behind him.</p><p>“Shit,” he mumbled, cringing as he belatedly realized he’d nearly run someone down in his haste to leave the school parking lot. Color drained from his face a moment later as he realized the guy he’d almost hurt was Eddie Diaz.</p><p>“Hey,” Eddie said as he quickly came up to the driver’s side of the car to speak with Buck. If Buck could’ve sunk any lower into his seat, he would have.</p><p>“Hey,” he choked out.</p><p>“You do know you’ve gotta check behind you before sliding into reverse, right? Considering there are people out here in the world known as pedestrians and well, we’ve gotten used to living and all, you know? All I ask is that you look behind you so we’re able to get to our other activities or to our own cars safely. But I guess to be fair you’re just taking the term ‘bi disaster’ to a whole other level, huh, Buckley?” Eddie asked with a chuckle.</p><p>“Something like that, mmmhmm,” Buck murmured in agreement, refusing to give Eddie Diaz the satisfaction of meeting his eye, instead keeping his focus forward.</p><p>“Okay then. Good talk, Buckley. Catch ya later,” Eddie replied before heading in the direction of his own vehicle.</p><p>Swallowing convulsively for several seconds, it took everything within Buck not to start screaming aloud. Chimney brought him successfully back to himself.</p><p>“What the hell was that?”</p><p>“That was Eddie Diaz,” Buck growled, glaring out the back window as he finally hit the car into reverse and successfully headed out of the school’s parking lot.</p><p>**</p><p>The following afternoon found Buck riding his bike past the baseball field, slightly surprised yet relieved, not to see Eddie out on the field with his other teammates preparing for practice. And then that’s when he heard it. His name being called out by none other than Eddie Diaz.</p><p>“Dammit,” he grumbled, reluctantly dragging his feet against the gravel beneath him, slowly coming to a stop. Getting off his bike he put the kickstand in place and turned toward Eddie who was rapidly approaching him.</p><p>“Buckley, what is this?” Eddie demanded of him, holding up an envelope toward Buck. Buck felt himself grow lightheaded upon seeing that very familiar envelope in Eddie’s hand.</p><p>“No,” he whispered hoarsely, certain he was dreaming, caught in the middle of some horrible nightmare.</p><p>While Buck had been on a downward mental spiral Eddie had continued to talk to him, unaware of Buck’s current mindset. “Look, Buckley, it’s not that this whole letter thing wasn’t flattering…it really was. And yeah, at the time it was a pretty good kiss. For eighth grade standards anyway. But if this got back to Shannon she’d freak out, you know? The two of us are already having problems, and I…”</p><p>Color drained from Buck’s face as he looked over Eddie’s shoulder and saw Ali of all people walking towards him. With her own letter of course.</p><p>This can’t be happening. Buck thought desperately. “Dammit,” he swore, and before he could really think through his next actions carefully like usual, he cupped Eddie’s face in his hands and kissed the other boy firmly on the lips.</p><p>When he pulled back a few seconds later he was relieved to see that Ali had taken off. And then the horror of what he’d just done with Eddie fully set in.</p><p>“Dammit!” he croaked again, immediately whipping around, releasing the kickstand on his bike and taking off, leaving a stunned Eddie Diaz in his wake.</p><p>**</p><p>Once he got home, Buck felt for a blissful moment that he was free of the letters for at least a little while. That he could breathe.</p><p>He’d forgotten about Hen. She sat waiting for him on his front porch steps.</p><p>“Hey, Hen. Now’s not really a good time,” he mumbled, walking up the stairs, passing her and heading into the house.</p><p>Hen cackled, following after him to his bedroom. “Oh, I figured, baby. That letter was really sweet. I had a great time dancing with you at Homecoming too. But you do know I’m a lesbian, right?” she asked, smirking at him.</p><p>“Bite me,” Buck snapped, glaring at her before going to his hands and knees, crawling underneath his bed, none too surprised when he came up empty. Panic began setting in when he realized not only were all five letters missing, but so was the shoebox he’d kept them in. “Goddammit,” he moaned, shuddering as he struggled not to start crying, feelings of dread and frustration overwhelming him.</p><p>And then things got increasingly worse when he and Hen heard the doorbell echo throughout the house. Glancing out his bedroom window Buck saw Eddie’s truck in the driveway.</p><p>“Jesus. He’s like a friggin’ cockroach or something,” he muttered in annoyance. A few seconds later Bobby yelled for him to come to the door, he had company.</p><p>“You never saw me,” Buck instructed of Hen, silently begging her not to say anything. He quickly opened his bedroom window, crawled onto the roof and climbed down the trellis.</p><p>Getting onto his bike yet again he took off for Athena’s Diner.</p><p>**</p><p>Arriving at Athena’s Diner, Buck let loose a deep, relieved breath. Leaving his bike resting up against the side of the building, he entered the restaurant feeling the tension of the day roll off of him.</p><p>“Hey, Athena. Has it been busy today?” he called out to the owner as he approached her at the counter.</p><p>Athena gave him a welcoming smile. “Hey, Buck. It hasn’t been too terrible. Just enough to keep me on my toes,” she said, winking at him. “You want your usual, hon?”</p><p>“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks,” he replied gratefully, taking a seat at the counter.</p><p>Shortly after Athena had brought Buck his order of fries and a chocolate milkshake he glanced toward the door when he heard the bell above it jingle.</p><p>Athena had returned her attention to the few other patrons within the diner so Buck couldn’t even pretend to not have seen Eddie as the other boy sat next to him at the counter.</p><p>“Why sure you can sit here, Eddie,” he muttered, his eyes narrowing at his slowly melting milkshake.</p><p>“What’ll your friend have, Buck?” Athena asked, coming up to them a few minutes later.</p><p>Buck’s face went through several different expressions at Athena’s use of the word ‘friend’. Eddie just smirked at him, knowing full well Buck had been about to say that he and Eddie weren’t friends.</p><p>“I’ll just have what he’s having. That okay, Evan?” Eddie replied, his eyes dancing with mirth.</p><p>Buck shrugged, feigning indifference, watching Athena go off to fill Eddie’s order as he took a generous swallow of his milkshake. “What do you want, Eddie?” he finally demanded of the other boy when it became clear Eddie wasn’t leaving.</p><p>“Sorry to ambush you and all, it’s just, your friend Hen said you would probably be here? And well, I had to know,” Eddie insisted.</p><p>Buck dug his fingers into his temples, wondering if either an ice cream headache or migraine were inevitable. “Know what?”</p><p>“Why you jumped me back at the baseball field this afternoon. You into me or something, Buckley?” Eddie asked, thanking Athena a few minutes later when she brought him his order.</p><p>Buck had yet to respond to Eddie’s inquiries, shoving a fry in his mouth for a moment of blissful silence to pass between them before eventually venturing forth.</p><p>Side-eyeing the other boy, Buck sighed before turning on the stool he sat on so he could meet Eddie’s gaze head-on.</p><p>“I don’t actually like you, Eddie,” he said. “I just kissed you to prevent the person I had real feelings for figuring out how I felt about them.”</p><p>Eddie raised an eyebrow in Buck’s direction. “So that letter…?”</p><p>“You weren’t ever supposed to read it. It got out by mistake, all right?”</p><p>“You were trying to make somebody else jealous when you kissed me? Who?” Eddie inquired, smirking again.</p><p>“None of… It’s not… Ali Martin, okay? It’s Ali Martin. And she, she, uh, got a letter too. So, you can see how mortifying and awkward all of this is. Jesus,” Buck muttered, a half-laugh, half whimper-like noise fell from his lips at this admission.</p><p>“Wait. I’m not the only one you sent a love letter too?” Eddie suddenly demanded, his brow furrowing in confusion, clearly taken aback at the news. “How many others?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“How many people did you send letters too, Buckley?” Eddie inquired.</p><p>Buck swallowed hard, staring at the fingers on his right hand as they drummed out a random rhythm on the countertop. “Um, f-five,” he choked out.</p><p>Eddie’s eyes widened at this revelation. “Five letters?! Damn, Buckley. Should I just start calling you Casanova?” he murmured, his voice taking on a teasing nature.</p><p>Buck avoided making eye contact with Eddie. “Jesus,” he mumbled under his breath. He finally looked in Eddie’s direction again when the other boy’s phone buzzed, letting him know he had a text message.</p><p>“Shannon,” Eddied said when he realized Buck was looking at him with mild curiosity. Finally pocketing his phone he began grinning at Buck. “So Buckley, I’m gonna take a wild guess here and assume you didn’t drive here, huh?”</p><p>“No,” Buck admitted. “I, uh, rode my bike over.” He swallowed visibly, remembering how he’d just gone into autopilot mode wanting desperately to escape everything happening that afternoon.</p><p>Eddie chuckled. “Figured as much. You want a lift home?” he offered.</p><p>“Oh. Um, yeah. That’d be great, thanks,” Buck replied, giving Eddie a weak smile.</p><p>**</p><p>A short while later they pulled up outside Buck’s house.</p><p>“Thanks, Eddie,” Buck murmured. “And, uh, sorry about jumping you earlier,” he continued, feeling his face heat up.</p><p>“No worries, Evan. I’ve dealt with worse,” Eddie reassured him.</p><p>“Okay. Good luck with Shannon, I guess,” Buck told him, climbing from the truck, grabbing his bike from the back and heading in the direction of his front door. He looked up in surprise when he heard Eddie’s truck door open and close.</p><p>“Hold up, Buckley,” the other boy called out, walking hurriedly in Buck’s direction.</p><p>Buck felt himself stopping against his better judgment, wondering what Eddie had to tell him.</p><p>“Shannon broke up with me a few days ago. She said something about wanting to surround herself with more mature people? I think it was code for: ‘I want to date college guys’ or some crap like that. Whatever. But she totally lost it when she found out you kissed me. And I guess she thinks we’re together now or something,” Eddie explained.</p><p>Buck raised an eyebrow. “Oh…kay?” he questioned slowly, unsure how else to respond.</p><p>“I mean, what if she kept thinking we were together? It’d drive her nuts! She’d have to come running back to me sooner or later, right? And what if she wasn’t the only one? What if we faked it for everyone. All your friends, my baseball team, our families…?” Eddie asked, growing more excited the longer he talked.</p><p>“And what’s in it for me?” Buck demanded.</p><p>Eddie shrugged. “Popularity? And if we’re convincing enough maybe we could get that Ali chick jealous and wanting to be with you even more. What do you say?” he asked anxiously, biting down on his lower lip.</p><p>Buck rolled his eyes. “Hell, no,” he insisted.</p><p>“Oh, come on, Buckley. You never know. We could be good together, man,” Eddie wheedled.</p><p>Buck sighed, leveling his gaze on Eddie. “I’ll think about it,” he finally relented.</p><p>“Awesome. I’ll take it,” Eddie declared, clearly confident that Buck would come around after some more deliberation. “See you tomorrow, Evan,” he promised softly before heading back to his car.</p><p>As hard as he tried, Buck couldn’t ignore the light flutter in his stomach hearing Eddie say his first name so casually, almost like he was one of the few people in Buck’s life who’d always been allowed to.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, y'all. Sorry for the wait on this one. My muse up and left me for awhile. And honestly I've just been focusing on other things that keep me calm and my anxiety low in terms of writing. I will get part 3 done and posted, I'm just not sure when. Hopefully though, part 2 will have been worth the wait. Enjoy! :o)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That night at dinner Buck barely touched his food. Instead he pushed the food around his plate to make it appear like he’d eaten something. Unfortunately for him Bobby noticed.</p><p>“Evan, what’s up? You’re not eating,” he said, worry inflected in his tone and features as he looked at Buck.</p><p>“Oh. Just thinking,” Buck mumbled, finally taking a bite of food.</p><p>“What’s up?” Bobby repeated.</p><p>Buck swallowed, Eddie’s words from earlier reverberating in his head as he looked his father in the eye. He couldn’t believe he was about to do this…</p><p>“Dad, do you, uh, do you remember Eddie Diaz?” he asked.</p><p>Bobby’s brow furrowed for a moment. “Eddie Diaz… Wasn’t he the boy you had such a crush on in middle school?” he finally asked after some thought. “Sure. What about him?”</p><p>Buck blushed at his father’s words. Closing his eyes briefly he silently reminded himself that his dad didn’t know any better. It was technically the truth too, no matter how embarrassing. Clearing his throat, he gave Bobby a small smile.</p><p>“Eddie’s my boyfriend,” he finally replied.</p><p>He watched as Bobby’s eyes widened and he grinned broadly at Buck.</p><p>“Really? That’s great, son. Why don’t you invite him over next week?” Bobby offered.</p><p>“You mean for dinner?” Buck questioned, suddenly feeling ill. “Uh, Dad, my relationship with Eddie is still pretty new. I don’t think we’ve quite reached the “meet the parents” stage yet.”</p><p>“Oh, well, no hurry, Buck. I’m just putting it out there,” Bobby said with another easy grin.</p><p>Buck gave his father a weak smile in return. “All right. I’ll talk to Eddie and see what he says,” he choked out, wondering how in the hell he’d be able to pull off this fake relationship for as long as needed when he was already having doubts.</p><p>But then later that night he thought about Ali and how desperately Eddie wanted to get back together with Shannon, and he could feel his resolve weakening and his doubts evaporating.</p><p>With a heavy sigh he pulled his phone from his nightstand and sent Eddie a text.</p><p>B: All right, you win, Eddie. Let’s do this.</p><p>In a matter of minutes Eddie replied.</p><p>E: Awesome, Buckley! You want to kiss on it to make it official? 😉 Oh, wait. On second thought better wait until tomorrow for the real thing. 😊 </p><p>B: You’re such a dork. :P</p><p>E: Yeah, your dork. G’night, Evan. Xoxo</p><p>Despite his initial misgivings about Eddie’s proposition Buck fell asleep with a smile on his face that night.</p><p>**</p><p>The following morning after Hen had brought him and Chimney to school like usual, Buck hopped out of her car and started making his way through the parking lot.</p><p>“Hey, Buck! Where’s the fire, man?” Chimney called out after him.</p><p>Buck visibly flinched, sighing heavily before turning around to face his friends who were looking at him with a mixture of concern and bewilderment.</p><p>“I just have to go meet up with someone,” he said vaguely.</p><p>“Yeah? Who?” Hen insisted softly.</p><p>Buck shrugged, floundering for words momentarily. “Eddie,” he finally replied, realizing he didn’t have any better response other than the truth. He nearly laughed aloud watching Chimney’s eyes widen and Hen’s mouth fall open in shock.</p><p>“Eddie? What? You can’t be serious. With the way he and Shannon are together I always thought you couldn’t stand the guy, Buck,” Chimney choked out in disbelief, sharing a confused look with Hen.</p><p>“Oh, well, um, no? He and Shannon broke up. And uh, Eddie… Eddie’s kinda my boyfriend now,” Buck admitted. He could feel his cheeks redden under his friends’ scrutiny. “Look, sorry for dropping this bombshell on you both, but I gotta go,” he continued, flashing a weak smile at them before taking off in the direction of the boys’ locker room.</p><p>Relief flooded him upon entering the locker room. He needed to see Eddie. The doubts had come creeping back. He figured having Eddie close would help assuage the guilt, doubt and fear he felt about lying to everyone in their lives.</p><p>“Hey, Eddie,” he said, approaching the other boy, silently taking a moment to appreciate Eddie’s physique before Eddie pulled a t-shirt on over his head. 'Damn'. Buck thought to himself, biting down on his lower lip, watching as the other boy’s abs disappeared beneath the t-shirt and Eddie (fully clothed now unfortunately) turned toward him.</p><p>“Hey, Evan,” Eddie murmured, his eyes softening as they looked at one another. And before Buck fully understood what was happening Eddie was leaning forward and kissing him.</p><p>Just as Buck finally figured out he should probably put his hands on Eddie’s shoulders to stop his embarrassing flailing and to steady himself, the bell rang.</p><p>“Dammit,” Eddie growled, his brow furrowing in annoyance for a few seconds. He brushed his lips against the side of Buck’s head before taking Buck’s hand in his own. “To be continued?” he asked hopefully, leading Buck from the locker room.</p><p>Rather than answering Eddie’s question Buck gave him a tight-lipped smile.</p><p>“I have to get to class, Eddie. We’ll meet outside at the picnic tables for lunch, okay?” he suggested.</p><p>Eddie snorted, shaking his head as his eyes danced in amusement. “Sure, Buckley. I’ll see you then,” he promised.</p><p>“Great. See you later,” Buck immediately responded before taking off in the direction of his first class. He was in such a hurry that he didn’t notice when Eddie’s hand briefly tightened its hold on his fingers as they stopped holding hands.</p><p>**</p><p>Once lunch rolled around Buck headed out to the school’s courtyard where there were several trees planted and picnic tables scattered about.</p><p>Quickly picking a table he sat down and waited for Eddie to arrive, which he did a few minutes later.</p><p>“Hey, Buckley. So, why’d you want to meet out here instead of in the cafeteria with everyone else?” he asked, sitting down next to Buck.</p><p>Buck nodded in acknowledgement of Eddie’s question, pulling a notebook from his bag.</p><p>“We need a game plan. Rules, you know, for this whole fake dating thing,” he insisted, opening the notebook and coming to a fresh page, pen poised, ready to write.</p><p>Eddie’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Rules? You mean like a professional agreement? A, a contract? Damn, Buckley. You can zap the fun from anything. Talented, aren’t you?” he demanded softly, shaking his head in disbelief as a chuckle escaped him. “All right, fine. What were you thinking?”</p><p>“Well, for starters no more kissing,” Buck replied vehemently.</p><p>“What? No, no, no. Who the hell’s gonna believe we’re in a relationship if I can’t kiss you?” Eddie asked.</p><p>“This is a fake relationship, Eddie. And considering I’ve never actually been in a relationship before I’d really prefer not all my ‘firsts’ to be fake, all right?” Buck told him.</p><p>Eddie avoided meeting Buck’s gaze for a moment, running a hand along the back of his neck as he mulled over Buck’s words.</p><p>“Okay, fine, whatever, Buckley. But we’ve got to convince people we’re a couple somehow,” he finally said.</p><p>“We could interlace our fingers when we hold hands?” Buck suggested.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>Without asking permission Buck took ahold of Eddie’s hand in his own and wove their fingers together. “Like that.”</p><p>“Got it. But there has to be more we can do. Wait. I’ve got it. We could eat food off each other’s plates, even feed each other sometimes. That’s couple-y, gross and over the top, right?” Eddie asked with a grin.</p><p>Buck huffed out a laugh as he wrote down Eddie’s suggestion. “Sure, we can do that. You getting hungry?”</p><p>“Maybe a little,” Eddie admitted to him. “But let’s finish this up first.”</p><p>“Okay. What else?”</p><p>“I could…I could give you a Spanish pet name?” Eddie replied softly.</p><p>“Yeah? You’d do that?” Buck asked in surprise.</p><p>Eddie shrugged. “Sure. Couples do that kind of stuff together all the time, right? And uh, Shannon kept whining at me to give her one, but I never did. I just always called her ‘babe’. So, uh, one more way to get her really angry I guess?”</p><p>“Right,” Buck muttered in agreement. “Anything else?” he asked curtly.</p><p>“Yeah. You should come to all my baseball games and whatever party I may be invited to,” Eddie told him.</p><p>Buck nodded again. “Got it. Oh, and I’m gonna need you to drive me to school every day.”</p><p>“Of course,” Eddie agreed easily, smiling at Buck. “And you’re coming with me to San Diego.”</p><p>“What’s in San Diego?” Buck asked curiously.</p><p>“Come on, Buckley. Really? You don’t…? Okay, whatever. It’s where we play the Blue Devils every year in an away game tournament. But really, it’s just an excuse for all the players to hook up with their girlfriends or get drunk or whatever,” Eddie explained.</p><p>Buck gaped at the other boy. “You can’t be serious.”</p><p>“Look, it’s not like I’m expecting us to hook up or anything…” Eddie said, trailing off midsentence when Buck interrupted him.</p><p>“Charming,” he snorted, rolling his eyes.</p><p>Eddie huffed out a laugh. “Would you let me finish?”</p><p>Buck immediately sobered. “Sorry,” he mumbled, sufficiently feeling chastised, which was something no one other than Maddie was able to accomplish normally.</p><p>Eddie’s gaze softened. “Evan, I just mean, among the team, if you’re a player and you’re seeing someone at the time of the tournament it’s expected that you and your partner go together to the games, hangout at the hotel, that kind of thing.”</p><p>“Oh. I can do that I guess,” Buck said, feeling relieved it wasn’t anything worse. “When is it?”</p><p>“A month from now,” Eddie told him.</p><p>“You really think we’ll still be doing this by then?” Buck asked.</p><p>“If we’re still pretending to be a couple a month from now let’s agree we’ll go together,” Eddie compromised.</p><p>“Deal,” Buck agreed, holding his hand out for Eddie to shake, which the other boy did. And then the two of them each signed the contract making themselves officially fake boyfriends.</p><p>**</p><p>The following morning Eddie pulled up outside Buck’s house as promised. <br/>Hen had been trying to convince Buck to just try and get behind the wheel, to drive them to school again.</p><p>“If you need more practice without us around then I’ll let the subject drop. No more driving talk from me, okay? Promise,” she told him.</p><p>Buck nodded meaningfully in the direction of the Buckleys’ driveway. “I really don’t think that’ll be a problem, Hen,” he said.</p><p>Hen looked from Eddie’s truck, to Buck and back again. “No friggin’ way.”</p><p>“Believe it,” Buck said, chuckling as the two of them made their way toward the truck.</p><p>Once they got into the vehicle, Buck naturally climbing into the passenger seat next to Eddie, Eddie took a hold of Buck’s hand in his own, Buck delighted to see the other boy make sure to interlace their fingers together as he did so.</p><p>“Good morning, querido,” Eddie murmured, lifting their clasped hands to his lips and kissing the back of Buck’s hand.</p><p>“G’morning,” Buck mumbled, his face flushing slightly from Eddie’s attention and the fact Hen was watching the entire interaction from the backseat. He should’ve known Eddie would find a loophole to the ‘no kissing’ clause in their contract.</p><p>“Good morning, Hen,” Eddie said with a smile in Hen’s direction as he backed out of the driveway and headed in the direction of Chimney’s house.</p><p>“Uh, yeah, good morning,” Hen replied, clearly still in a state of shock over what she was witnessing and experiencing.</p><p>After they picked Chimney up and he climbed into the back next to Hen, he punched Buck lightly in the shoulder in a way of greeting, but also as a way to get his attention.</p><p>“Hey, Chim. What’s up, man?” Buck asked with a laugh.</p><p>“So, is this going to be a thing now? Eddie Diaz giving us rides to school?” Chimney demanded.</p><p>“It is if you want it to be, Chimney,” Eddie promised him.</p><p>Chimney’s expression immediately soured. “My name’s Howie. Only my friends get to call me Chimney,” he retorted.</p><p>“Noted. Hey, Howie, you’re dating Evan’s sister, Maddie, right?” Eddie asked, attempting to keep the conversation going. Buck felt himself having to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. He really appreciated Eddie trying his best to fit in with his friends. It was kind of cute.</p><p>Chimney’s eyes narrowed in Eddie’s direction. “Yeah, so?”</p><p>“I dunno, man. There’s just something about the Buckley siblings. They’re worth it, aren’t they?” Eddie replied, squeezing Buck’s hand while giving Buck a brief smile before returning his attention to the road.</p><p>Buck watched Chimney relax at Eddie’s words, the other boy letting out a resigned sigh. “Fine, you can call me Chimney,” he relented, a small smirk lighting his features.</p><p>“Victory,” Eddie murmured to Buck, his lips brushing against Buck’s temple for a moment as they came to a stop at a red light.</p><p>Buck just shook his head and grinned back at the other boy.</p><p>**</p><p>In the days that followed Eddie continued to pick Buck up for school every morning and bring him home every afternoon, as promised.</p><p>It wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that Buck remembered Bobby had wanted to have Eddie over for dinner.</p><p>“Hey, Eddie?”</p><p>“What’s up?” Eddie asked.</p><p>“Do you have plans tonight?” Buck asked. “I mean, it’s totally cool if you do. There’s-there’s no hurry on this. Seriously,” he continued in a rush.</p><p>Eddie gave him an amused look. “It’s fine, Evan. I don’t have anything going on tonight. What’s your plan?”</p><p>“Oh,” Buck murmured, blushing as he belatedly realized he hadn’t expected Eddie to be so agreeable. “It’s just that my dad really wants to meet you. And he suggested inviting you over to dinner. Which okay, whatever, sure. But the idea of him grilling you on whatever pops in his head…? He could keep you at the house indefinitely then. And that’s just a horrifying thought,” he explained.</p><p>“How about we meet somewhere public then? Athena’s maybe?” Eddie suggested.</p><p>“Perfect!” Buck exclaimed happily at the other boy’s suggestion.</p><p>“Great. I’ll meet you and your dad there around six?” Eddie told him.</p><p>“Sure,” Buck agreed, climbing from Eddie’s truck. “See you then, Eddie,” he promised the other boy before finally heading towards his house.</p><p>**</p><p>That evening Buck turned toward Bobby as the older man pulled into a parking space in front of Athena’s Diner.</p><p>“Okay, hand them over,” Buck demanded, stone faced.</p><p>Bobby let out a surprised laugh. “What’re we talking about here?”</p><p>“Your wallet and phone,” Buck replied. “I’m not about to walk in there and attempt to have dinner with you and my boyfriend if you’re preparing to embarrass me with pics or something.”</p><p>“Why would I need photographic evidence when all the stories I have are pure gold?” Bobby asked in response, a smile tugging at his lips.</p><p>Buck narrowed his eyes in his father’s direction, a scowl settling on his features. “You wouldn’t dare.”</p><p>“You’re right. I wouldn’t. Especially when you consider all the best ammo is back at the house. Don’t worry, I’m a patient man, Buck. I’m sure you’ll forget about this conversation eventually and make the mistake of inviting Eddie over at some point,” Bobby joked, putting the keys into his jeans pocket as he climbed from the SUV.</p><p>Buck just sat in the passenger seat, stunned as his father’s words repeated themselves in his head.</p><p>Finally releasing a long breath, he reluctantly got out of the SUV and followed after Bobby into the restaurant. Once he entered the familiar building he felt himself immediately relaxing when he spotted Eddie already waiting for them in a nearby booth.</p><p>He watched in stunned yet admiring silence as Eddie got to his feet and introduced himself to Bobby. The guy was just so damn confident. It was impressive.</p><p>Effortlessly switching gears Eddie casually slipped his arm around Buck’s waist, pulling him close before speaking, making sure his voice was loud enough to carry over to Bobby.</p><p>“Hola, mi amor,” he said, shifting his body so before Buck fully realized what was happening he was up against the wall inside the booth, while Eddie sat next to him, the other boy’s eyes trained on the door for a few minutes before shifting his attention to Buck once again.</p><p>Buck gulped, giving Eddie what he hoped was a besotted smile, which was easy enough to feign when Eddie took ahold of his hand and intertwined their fingers before lifting their clasped hands to his lips and kissed Buck’s fingers.</p><p>The rest of the night flew by in a blur of conversation between them and Bobby. If pressed for details later Buck was certain that he wouldn’t have been able to come up with anything concrete or of genuine substance. Honestly, all he could remember was how sweet and funny Eddie was and also, interestingly enough, the looks his father and Athena shared with one another whenever she came over to their table to check on them. That’d definitely be something he’d have to contemplate later and discuss with Maddie.</p><p>Once the evening was finally winding down and the three of them were saying their goodbyes out in the parking lot Eddie turned toward Buck, squeezed his hand briefly before brushing his lips against Buck’s cheek.</p><p>“I’ll text you when I get home. And I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Evan?” Eddie murmured, his eyes soft as they held each other’s gazes.</p><p>“Yeah, sounds good,” Buck agreed. He watched in mild amusement as Eddie finally stepped away from him, winking playfully before heading in the direction of his truck.</p><p>“I like him,” Bobby told Buck on their way home.</p><p>Buck sighed softly, looking out the passenger window as his father drove. “Yeah, me too, Dad.”</p>
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